


Sokovia

by izumi2



Series: Realpolitik 101 [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Explanation time!, Moderated due to sudden influx of trolls that think that tags are here to look pretty, Not Natasha Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Personification, Tags are not here to look pretty, Very little dialogue, at all, dialogue finally, heavy introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 02:50:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14886239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumi2/pseuds/izumi2
Summary: The history of Sokovia.Of international relations.Getting even.~*~#Team Iron Man.In celebration of 33 pages of Team Iron Man fics.





	1. It's Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I DO NOT take the comics tie in as canon unless they ADD information, such as the fact that Team Cap was in Lagos because of a Bucky-lead;
> 
> The fact that in the comics, Hulk went on a rampage in Johannesburg all by his lonesome while Wanda had a passing mention of 'a Sokovian woman with magic powers' IS NOT something that I accept. Revisionist history much?
> 
> And as such, Wanda and Pietro were fully aware (because how the hell could they not?) that they were willingly volunteering for HYDRA.

**_ What is it with people saying that Sokovia was destroyed? _ **

_2015 - Just After Age of Ultron._

Sokovia has a complicated relationship with Stark.

Actually it was quite simple, the only complicated thing is how they treated the man.

Yes, as far they know – most of them had slumped shoulders in exasperation when the truth was revealed – the man built some AI that almost destroyed the fucking world and ended destroying an entire city of their country.

And that’s a detail that they call no attention to… the rest of the world certainly didn’t so why would they do something so politically stupid?

Everybody for the last year has been broadcasting from the top of rooftops how Sokovia was destroyed, the countless deaths and destruction and how ‘Sokovia was destroyed’ and yes, it does warrant a repeat. Their country never had so much media coverage. They were a very simple country, their economy mostly based on tourism and feedstock as their major political leverage came from the fact that no air craft or vehicle could cross most places in Europe without crossing their territory first.

 _‘Nowhere special, but the way to everywhere special’…_ and the Sokovians politicians were not about to bring attention to the fact that ‘Hey, Sokovia is still very much here, what Ultron destroyed was Novi Grad… a **_city_** of Sokovia… not even a state’, it wasn’t like US was destroyed, it wasn’t even Kansas destroyed, it was Kansas City… that wouldn’t exactly be smart now, would it? If people wanted to say that ‘Sokovia was destroyed’… then let them.

After Novi Grad was destroyed, after all the rage and the grief and the shock waned enough for the professionals to start damage control, one thing confused all officials. There was no unrest. People were grieving, at loss and in pain. And yet… how was that any different from the last two decades of bloody civil war where missiles that weren’t even aimed at them destroyed patches of their country?

Where were the armed men with ridiculous masks? Where were the bombs exploding left and right? Where were the crowds protesting something or the other? Where were the panicking families after their missing children? All the posters of missing… everyone? Where were the deaths? The terrorist threatening to explode themselves and everybody in the building alongside them? The tortured bodies showing up in rivers?

For the first time in twenty years, the Sokovian government could finally put their ducks in a row and actually work, and in the end of almost seven months of investigations and those with the fancy piece of paper with ‘Political Sciences’ and accounting and fucking geopolitical college professors finally put their diplomas to use. Well… no one would ever be able to blame the newly instated Sokovian president of laughing until it hurt.

Novi Grad, the Sokovian city with the worst crimes of the second half of the 20th century and the first couple of years of the 21st, was HYDRA’s strongest presence in Sokovia.

 That wasn’t surprising, that wasn’t even news. That city was so infested that the fact it was HYDRA was barely an afterthought. The city that would make anyone, even Americans, go ‘Gotham who’? For it wasn’t the home of the criminally insane, of psychopathic clowns and human flesh eating alligators in the sewers. They were all just human… and that was terrifying. Sokovia knew about HYDRA and they were so busy defending themselves from all sides, including from the inside, that they simply never had the bodies to put an end to the… well… Nazis.

As it turns out, they should have had.

HYDRA was surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, simplistic. The fact that Sokovia was in a civil war helped them infiltrate the country. The fact that it was a **_civil_** war helped conceal their own crimes – so of course HYDRA facilitated the crimes of others – even if not their presence, everybody and their mother knew they were there.

At first glance, anyone would say that if Sokovia **_wasn’t_** in a civil war, then HYDRA wouldn’t have gotten their claws on them. So with everybody focused on trying to curb the civil war, HYDRA went on undisturbed. And while true enough, the fact that HYDRA was an enabler and therefor worsening the effects and consequences of the civil war to the point where their effort to curb it was rendered useless didn’t occur to anyone with the power to actually do anything about it. Hence, the situation in Novi Grad, where people can literally go to the nearest HYDRA post to fucking enlist.

And they were all collectively looking at the Maximoff twins… one of which was turned into an Avenger by Captain fucking America.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Sokovia was too busy cleaning up their country, finally having a moment without violence to do something, they would be all mute in complete bafflement. While the Maximoff’s situation – orphaned at young age due to a stray shell was in no way uncommon – it was easy to spot HYDRA in their country, the only people that were not either violently protesting and/or hunched over in fear, let alone two Enhanced HYDRAs at that, so the Maximoffs, while not famous, were well known. And now Captain AMERICA invited a HYDRA member to be an Avenger? They heard about his ‘oh so godly qualities, about how Captain America was forgiving and whatever. But this is not forgiveness. This was stupidity.

Sokovia wasn’t strange to mind control, coercing, blackmail, bribery, threats and torture. But the country was so saturated with HYDRA, and HYDRA was so damn cozy in their country that they walked about with their octopus sign in broad daylight. And they certainly had NO shortage of bodies to thrown around. Meaning anyone that was HYDRA in Sokovia… was HYDRA because they wanted to be.

In the aftermath, now that they are cleaning house, ‘Not knowing that they were HYDRA’ was **_not_** flying for the first trials their country had in two decades. For damn’s sake! Strucker personally going about HYDRA’s business and the Sokovian and goddam German accent weren’t exactly similar!

And the situation that while earning a very confused look, it was still in the back of their heads, Wanda Maximoff as a US based Avenger… yeesh. Good luck to those idiots. As it was, Sokovia had no means of holding Maximoff for her crimes so letting the Americans take her and let her destroy and mind rape somewhere else was just as good in their book. So they slapped a _persona non grata_ on her ass and went about their day. Which included enjoying the peace.

It never occurred to the higher tier politicians that if they got rid of HYDRA, their efforts in the civil war would actually count for something. No one slapped themselves in the face though. Sokovia has been in the middle of the a civil war long before HYDRA set up headquarters in their country so even though obvious, it was only obvious in hindsight, after the epicenter of HYDRA was destroyed, aka: Novi Grad.

They kept the ball rolling, unwilling not to press their advantage, the destruction of the majority of HYDRA in their country made it easy to pick up the stray Nazis and use the momentum to curb the civil war. Their streets calm and at peace. It was almost too good to be true. It was too good to be true for the average citizen that was still reeling and in bouts of paranoia at the sudden silent streets; **_Almost_** too good to be true for the President and his consul that knew firsthand how hard it was to accomplish, regardless of how quick it happened.

The neighbor countries were now paying restitution for dragging Sokovia to their conflicts. Monetary and sociopolitical amends were offered and Sokovia was rebuilding itself. A president was elected by the end of the year and just in time the UN accepted Sokovia as an official member, their voices reaching international, global ears.

It was the dream coming true.

It was in the middle of it, that one Dr. Anthony E. Stark made himself known. Sokovia wasn’t exactly in a place to care about some American ‘playboy, billionaire’ escapades, actually, outside of US, Stark’s lifestyle couldn’t be less of a hot topic. They actually rolled their eyes at how Americans were so shallowly amused by the ‘very serious news’ of Stark’s love life. Why do they care who the man sleeps with? Stalking the guy to his workplace or his house in the chance of getting a picture was apparently worth money and… creepy much?

At first confused at the man’s presence, he explained himself and said that he would accept any investigations and review and Sokovia had no idea what to feel.

Was it still too soon to laugh… again?

Hundreds of Sokovians dead… and yet thousands of HYDRAs also dead and their fortress no more.

The result? Their country was at peace.

Were they pissed? Well… yes, but no more than usual, no more than they have been for two decades. As depressing as it was, three hundred of Sokovian deaths… were not a price that they were unused to pay, it was actually a lot less than the last five months of the civil war claimed and this time the results weren’t just pain and grieving, the reward was peace, monetary compensation and an actual government.

Sure, the citizens of Novi Grad were foaming at the mouth and Sokovia will have to offer them something.

The thing about Novi Grad, and the place wasn’t even their capitol, is that HYDRA chose them to be their ‘resting place’ for the same reason Sokovia was in a civil war, strategic geography. The city was the center of Sokovia, from there, HYDRA could wreck the havoc they wanted in the same timeframe. And HYDRA’s presence for the year they were there served as a kind of buffer, for a year, Novi Grad experienced a shadow of calm. HYDRA may have facilitated all the horror in the rest of the country as to not lose their very comfortable foothold, but even they needed a little ceasefire to work.

All the crimes and the atrocities that happened there were preferable to the constant horror the rest of the country suffered. For a year they were relatively protected of the civil war, the only nightmare being HYDRA itself.

The Sokovian president didn’t manage to curb the snort in time.

The comparison to a fictional city was coming hard. HYDRA was like Batman and the Joker at the same time. They protected Novi Grad from the effects of the war and instead picked through the masses to do whatever is it that they did. Human experimentation, torture techniques… you know, the ‘works’. And there were people in Novi Grad – and not an inconsiderable amount – that simply picked HYDRA as the lesser of two evils, more often than not turning a completely blind eye. All not to have their little ‘patch’ destroyed.

Well… ‘oops, too bad’. The President sighed a little. He really needed to watch himself not blurt out his very unsympathetic feelings towards Novi Grad’s attitude.

And now they were ranging pissed at the tragedy that befell their city. If the Sokovian president wasn’t so busy trying not to laugh at Stark’s face, he would be rolling his eyes and snapping back a rather nasty rebuff at Novi Grad instead. _“Oh, boohoo! Did you know we were in the middle of a civil war, you idiots? Meaning that the destruction and deaths you suffered, the rest of the country was facing daily, you bunch of pampered little vermin!”_ …yep, he definitely needed to watch himself.

Turning towards Stark again, the Sokovian president turned thoughtful.

His degree wasn’t in engineering with specialization in robotics. So he couldn’t exactly understand what exactly is it that the man did wrong, but Stark did say that Ultron was originally a program of his, a program that, by his own admittance, he has no idea what happened but didn’t change that it was his project in the first place. That took guts.

Admitting something like this… especially in the middle of their physical and emotional healing… in the middle of their heightened feelings about everything. Pain, rage, relief, joy…

They were also buried in work, which included the reconstruction of their country and establishing an actual government and those were the straight objetives. And it was the first part that Stark was offering his help in form of amends for the tragedy that he helped create in Sokovia… not Novi Grad, Stark said ‘Sokovia’.

Seriously, was it too soon to laugh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points I wanted to make:
> 
> 1) Sokovia wasn't destroyed. This is the same thing as saying that US was destroyed in the Chitauri invasion. Novi Grad was destroyed = Kansas City was destroyed.
> 
> 2) Tied to the #1, I don't know if Sokovia was participant in the whole Sokovia Accords, but it would be really weird, to say the least, if they weren't, but for this to happen, they would have to be a member of the UN, and the UN doesn't accept countries that are in civil war.
> 
> 3) Tied to the #2, HOW did their civil war that went on for DECADES (Maximoff was 10 when the shell hit their apartment and she is at what age by AoU? 24 at the earliest?) just poof and ended in an year?
> 
> 4) Novi Grad had a HYDRA ***fortress***... so I started to think of how no one batted an eye for HYDRA.
> 
> 5) And even though #3 and #4, there are people like Zemo and Miriam Sharpe... Sokovia was in the middle of a civil war and they were pissed that there were casualties... in Novi Grad... why was that? BECAUSE of #4, not despite it. HYDRA could hardly do their thing while worrying about random shells dropping in their puppy city, right? They had that shield but their stomping grounds also needed some calm for them to work. So I had a thought: what if between 2014 and 2015, HYDRA helped shield the city from the civil war effects? What is the lesser of two evils? Novi Grad decided for HYDRA.  
> ***I DOUBT that HYDRA was only in Sokovia between Rogers and Romanoff airing SHIELD and 2015 when the Avengers were made aware of them, but as far as most of the public knows...
> 
> 6) #5 explains people not batting an eye for HYDRA and the Maximoffs' complete ease at 'Oh, they are gonna give us powers, never mind the fact that they are using us as long as we get what we want'.
> 
> 7) You put all points together, and technically? Ultron ended their civil war... I laughed so much!!
> 
> ~*~
> 
> I will take longer to update this work because of college stuff, end of semester and I am up to my eyeballs in work, deadlines coming and I am ripping my own hair out.
> 
> WRITING (not updates) will resume in July, 1.


	2. It's Not You, It's Me

**_ Why not call it “The South Africa Accords” or “South Korea Accords”? _ **

_2015 – A few months after Age of Ultron._

It was almost pathetically easy to restore their country’s political stand.

Not only Ultron ended their civil war and brought about an actual lasting peace of the likes their country didn’t experience in more than twenty years, but the damages are all the mention they needed to make to get quite the bit of leeway in international settings.

For now, they were just gambling and it was paying off every time, the Sokovian president was sure that at some point people were going to call them out of using the same card over and over again: the destruction of their… “Country”, the Sokovians snorted behind closed doors and yet no one did.

To be honest they, in theory, should feel guilty about using their countrymen’s deaths like this but history books that will one day be written are looking more like the Renaissance then the Dark Ages and what country was idiotic enough not to press an advantage like this?

After the unprecedented disaster that was Novi Grad, HYDRA’s strongest hold on the country was gone, and then the American Air Force took out the remaining. Not even two months after they became part of EU, Sokovia was an official UN member and their voice was internationally heard.

Europe was bending over backwards with the restoration efforts, especially once Sokovia requested membership in the EU.

And yet one of their very first, official, allies outside of Europe was South Africa.

Weird choice and yet on the nose choice for anyone that knew recent Sokovian history. Their country was the main HYDRA base remaining and was now allying themselves with the African country that also suffered untold damages because of Enhanced.

People were either seeing two ravaged countries standing together and applauding their “survivor’s spirit” or rolling their eyes for the obvious play – very discreetly of course, **_no one_** wanted the mob that would form if anyone dared to voice that particular opinion about the country that just suffered so much, sentiment that only got stronger once South Africa joined them.

Culture and religion-wise, they were very incompatible, but one does have political, social and strategic power that the other wanted and if they played this game right, both countries would only benefit from this alliance for decades to come.

South Africa was in rubles and Sokovia didn’t have even rubles to their names. Meaning Johannesburg and Novi Grad, but the South Africans were not dumber than the Sokovians, the only reason there are even people saying “Johannesburg” instead of everybody calling it “South Africa” is because of the lack of casualties.

When investigating Dr. Stark’s involvement in Ultron, to truly understand the level and depth in which he was responsible for the rogue AI, the authorities left no stone unturned.

The case went to ICC as Americans and a Russian were involved in international incidents that, at first glance, could be classified as genocide, crime against humanity and crime of aggression, something that deeply insulted U.S. – but easy for them to say, U.S. was left alone.

And here’s something that insulted U.S. even more, it wasn’t only Tony Stark’s actions being investigated, but every single Avenger’s. Which included Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, Mr. Clinton Barton, Ms. Natalia Romanova, Thor Odinson and worst yet: Steven Rogers.

To say the least, Americans weren’t happy that a “national icon” was being investigated like a common criminal and Sokovia and South Africa had shut them up pretty quickly with a simple question: “If Cadet Sokovia or Major South Africa was responsible for destruction in U.S., saying that they are “national icons” would stop you?”

Honestly, was it little wonder that the so called American patriotism was often taken as American arrogance?

Much like Stark’s appearance in the reconstruction of Sokovia, another player made their displeasure known: Seoul, South Korea’s capital. It turns out that one of their most prized scientists, one Dr. Helen Cho, brought her government enough evidence and testimonies about the endangerment and deaths of their citizens and the destruction of their streets to make South Korea move their own assets.

And Sokovia couldn’t grin hard enough when South Korea offered to join resources.

Together, they wanted to understand why things happened as they did. To be honest, those that had the more right to be angry beyond reason were Sokovia – with their hundreds of deaths – and Seoul that also had casualties. They would never say it, but South Korea and Sokovia were in plain disbelief that Stark managed to contain a raging Hulk, enough that only properties were destroyed and with minimal loss of life, minimal in the sense that it was the **_Hulk_** but understandably, South Africa wasn’t exactly in the mood to hear **_that_**.

That’s one of the many reasons they were investigating the Avengers’ fights as a group instead of individually since those happened in U.S. soil anyway, actually, most of their more destructive nature was in U.S. soil and the three countries couldn’t roll their eyes hard enough at the ridiculous length in which America protected their own… from their own citizens… because they were famous…?

For every person that calls Tony Stark the Merchant of Death, there is a dozen that call him the Da Vinci of Our Time.

Captain America… hundreds of comic issues, movies, essays, and suddenly the man himself is among the living.

Now that they truly stopped to think about it, Captain America and Tony Stark – the man was already famous and infamous long before Iron Man and with Iron Man the levels just reached atmospheric levels – were the ones that the media most called attention to. Sure there were mentions of Thor and the Hulk when those are actually around but most tend to be in disbelief over Thor’s very existence – or, at the very least, over his identity – and one former Air Force General, Thaddeus Ross, made quite the job in curbing news of the Hulk… since those, although not very flattering to the Hulk, were a lot less so to Ross himself.

Together, they had public fame and enough money to be completely immune to anything any country threw at them, let alone U. S. and of course, as SHIELD’s pet project, they put those two as the faces of the Avengers. Sokovia, South Korea and South Africa had a moment of hesitation. Could they really tackle them? Especially with U. S. burying their heads in the sand if not outright protecting the Avengers?

And yet… Captain America is the stuff of propaganda, something that U. S. used as a rallying point, but Steve Rogers doesn’t have just fans. And Stark was very rich but the tabloids were fast enough to condemn the man and money can only get a person so far. Not even U. S. can be so arrogant… so why are the Avengers on such a loose leash?

They watched the Chitauri invasion. When they were first seen in action.

Romanova dumping those files in 2014 was proving to be very useful, South Korea was very proud to have brought that idea to the table. They snorted over the “very professional” files, who did that garbage? A Captain America fanboy and some Russian spy that thought too much of herself?

Nonetheless, even taking into account that trash, the Avengers don’t make sense. Who was the idiot that not only made those files but thought that this would be a good mix? Is this desperation, as the footage of one Nick Fury stated himself while talking with Loki of Asgard?

_“How desperate are you? That you called such lost creatures…”_

_“You made me very desperate.”_

Even if that was the case, why no one rectified that at all?

No changes in team training schedules, or in membership – not even to add someone to buffer the more extravagant personalities. They were just… set loose. As if one good fight where aliens were raining down was enough to curb the very different, strong and confrontational personalities that were not at all compatible and somehow, through magic, hope and miracles, transform them into a cohesive team. Just what is going on? It couldn’t be so simple as to blame HYDRA within SHIELD… could it?

Perhaps SHIELD expected them to gravitate towards the more alike. Banner and Stark certainly did so, as did Romanova and Barton, the only one left to their devices were Thor – who went back to his own world, so out of reach – and Rogers, that two years later was already working with SHIELD, more often than not with Romanova, whose bloody and very controversial past **_should_** be a point of friction… and somehow it wasn’t.

With all those glaring problems… Americans were still on their side. How?

In the aftermath of an alien invasion, getting goodwill would be like stealing candy from a Wal-Mart, they would be six “superheroes” that just saved “the world”. Who would care about the lab experience gone wrong and the two “former” assassins when they are teammates with a literal god, a living legend and a very charismatic billionaire? “Former” is being very loosely interpreted but still.

However, they could find no record, no footage, no interview of anyone doing any explaining besides Stark or someone from Stark Industries. This confused South Korea greatly. According to Helen Cho, three of the six original Avengers would sooner turn bald and dance naked in the middle of New York then defer to Stark. Dr. Cho didn’t use those exact words but the sentiment was there.

In the two years, from 2013 to 2015, that Dr. Cho collaborated with Stark Industries and through it, the Avengers, she reported that Stark was usually in the company of Dr. Banner. Both geniuses would brainstorm, sometimes inviting her along until an Avenger – Rogers, Romanova or Barton – burst in to ask for something: money, equipment… something that didn’t even exist yet – the time where Romanova asked for an ‘invisible communicator that also scanned people for masks, be they synthetic or electronic’ came to Cho’s mind. Helen stared at the spy like she had gone crazy and then turned to do the exact same thing with Tony when the inventor asked for ‘three weeks to come up with something’ only to whip her head again when Romanova replied ‘you have two’.

The whole exchange was so ridiculously absurd that Helen didn’t even know how to approach the subject with Stark. Banner also looked a little putout but in her same boat. “How to explain the concept of sexual freedom to a North Korean woman” kind of lost.

South Korea had no idea what to do with that piece of information, so they just put it in the pile of community breakfast that became of their exchange of intelligence. They didn’t even know if **_that_** … whatever it was… classified as “intelligence” but for lack of a better term…

Either way, from the Chitauri invasion, it wasn’t hard to see the pattern… since it was all there is: Stark or someone affiliated would talk to the public, explain what happened, offer compensation when something was destroyed, and offer apologies and condolences where lives were lost. The couple of times a lucky reporter managed to catch the other Avengers, they received confusing glances, glares or ‘no comments’. Three guesses who is who. Of the few times Dr. Banner was involved, he explaining that his first responsibility was to keep control and he couldn’t assure that control in the kind of interviews Stark participates. And yeah they could see where he was coming from even if they could also see where South Africa’s disdained snort was coming from.

South Africa got ahold of Ulysses Klaue, who got in contact with the Avengers and knew a little about Stark.

And this is where another piece fell into place. Klaue gleefully, a little unhinged to tell the truth, told them about what happened to his missing hand. They mostly ignored his ramblings about Wakanda because that not only wasn’t their concern, but also not the problem at hand, the Maximoff twins just keep coming up and this couldn’t be a coincidence.

Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, and three times is a pattern.

HYDRA could be accounted for the screwed team dynamics – a theory that is just a theory and with no way of proving. There is a stronger argument for SHIELD screwing it up – but still no way of proving, even if the other alternative is that they are idiots.

Stark cleaning up again and again was no theory. Stark went to bat in New York, then again after Thor came and went in London, and again in DC and yet again, here he is: in Sokovia.

Helen already told them about Maximoff’s involvement with Ultron and while Sokovia couldn’t forgive Stark (at least formally, officially), even for the accident it was, it was even harder to forgive someone who willingly helped that thing. Getting cold feet because Ultron’s goal was humanity’s extinction instead of just the Avengers’ – and whatever other collateral that might had as the South Koreans were quick to point out – wasn’t exactly an endearment.

They came up in Sokovia, they came up again in South Africa and yet again in Seoul. What was their deal?

Sokovia and South Korea already accumulated more than enough reasons and proofs to convict Maximoff of treason and accessory to murder just with HYDRA and Ultron – information that wasn’t divulged by the Avengers and they could only shake their heads at the stupidity. Can’t they see that if you act like you have something to hide… well, not their problem for the moment and just more ammunition when they make their move later.

With Klaue’s, granted very unreliable counting of things, they dug deeper in Sokovia, the twins’ mother nation.

Orphaned at ten… by a Stark Industries shell. They volunteered for HYDRA in 2008, when they turned eighteen… as Tony Stark announced himself as Iron Man. Pieces and bits revealed HYDRA’s plan with the scepter that originated Ultron… and the Maximoff’s involvement.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect as Johannesburg recovered footage from Klaue’s ship and they finally understood why the Hulk went on a rampage.

Just as South Korea was finished with Helen Cho’s written testimony and her co-workers’… the ones that survived that is, along with all the people hurt and killed in that train.

And everything fell into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Does anyone else is deeply insulted at the fact that Helen Cho and the attack in Seoul, South Korea was waved away like it never existed? I'm a woman... and I'm of color, I'm Asian... so... "No, MCU, the fact that you tried to rectify your screw up - if that was your intention #doubtful - about inteligence and women of color with Shuri is not something that I swallow. And not only because it was very poorly done."
> 
> 2) Writing this chap just made me realise that for all 'Sokovia Accords'... we don't KNOW any other Sokovians besides the Maximoff twins and, MCU, are you guys sure that this is the representation that you want? Just like (besides Helen) we don't know any South Africans or any South Koreans. The ONLY casualty we ever hear about is Charles Spencer... and, MCU... your bias is showing, because really? Age of Ultron (alongside Civil War) is the poster movie for casualties caused by hero fighting (South Africa and South Korea aside, because really) and the ONLY one we know the NAME of... is an American... whose mother blames Tony and ONLY Tony?
> 
> 3) Tied to #2: the fact that I am not overly fond of OCs forced me to use character through personification of entire countries (South Africa, Sokovia, South Korea) as if they are only one person, thanks, MCU. So... should we only care about casualties when it's one of Tony's? (supposedly).
> 
> 4) I just wanted a fic where Tony (or his friends) were NOT the ones responsible for doing all the heavy lifting. The way MCU does things it's as if America supremacy was a given fact... yeah, no, I think that other countries besides a FICTIONAL America can be competent as well... am I supposed to be sorry that I chose to believe that South Africa, South Korea and Sokovia can lift their own weight without big U.S. hovering? I am NOT insulting or criticizing real life America (U.S.) just this... whatever is it that the Russos were trying to do with "their U.S." - all possible quotation marks here.
> 
> 5) I wanted to draw a pattern here. The reason Sokovia, South Africa and South Korea were all suddenly looking at the Maximoff twins (and yeah, the transition did get confusing) is because they were analyzing the Avengers' presence in ther country and yet... everywhere they went... there were the Maximoff twins... WHY were they so involved? They helped Ultron in Sokovia, they were there in Johannesburg, and there they were yet AGAIN in South Korea... uh... South Korea, South Africa and Sokovia already got most of the public records on the Avengers and nothing added up and what it did, didn't make sense, but another common point those countries have are the twins... what is their importance? Well... they don't have to dig very deep, after all...
> 
> ~*~
> 
> Managed to write this sooner because my finals? Nailed it!! So happy right now!!!
> 
> ~*~
> 
> Rec time, I literally cried in the last chap!![Of Overqualified Hands & Pi Figures (IronStrange)](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1030592)
> 
> Also: [Marvel Discourse.](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1056692) I CANNOT believe that this doesn't have more kudos!!! Give love and kudos and comments!!!


	3. I Hope We Can Still Be Friends

**_ Who capitalized on Lagos? _ **

_2016 – Right After Lagos, Before the Accords were Presented._

Nigeria was lost. They watched the news. They saw New York devastated. They saw London being literally chopped. They saw DC crushed. They saw Johannesburg being attacked. They saw South Koreans crying. They saw Sokovia destroyed.

Naïvely, like the rest of the world, they thought it would never happen to them. Why? They didn’t know.

In the middle of pain and loss, they were more or less aware of Wakanda’s movements and had a moment of sympathy for their fellow Africans. They also lost citizens, which were only there to help them. It was Nigeria’s plan to reach out once their own situation was more stable but for now… they were completely unaware that they were about to have the same thought process as Sokovia, South Africa and South Korea: Nigeria wanted to prosecute the Avengers. More specifically, the Avengers involved in their tragedy, they were no more or less hesitant about it than they were. The Avengers were involved in destruction across the globe and yet they seemed to have gotten no more than a slapped wrist.

It was then that they were approached by Sokovia.

Total transparency lured them into joining resources even with South Africa’s involvement, they were firm decades earlier about South Africa’s military actions in apartheid. Few decades later, South Africa’s gratefulness vaporized due Nigerian organized crime in South Africa. So on and so forth. The rest of the world had this annoying tendency to view Africans and immediately think that they have commons interests, when historically, even modern history, it’s proven otherwise.

And yet… back in 2015, there were more than two dozen hundreds Nigerians in South Africa when the Hulk attacked… and after Nigeria agreed to a meeting, full disclosure, no strings attached as the Americans would say, they learned _**who**_ was behind the Hulk’s attack. Perhaps a common enemy is what is needed to finally stabilize their relations. If anything, they could just deal with it, join the other countries in tackling this titan, and then they could go back to the status quo.

~*~

Wakanda’s support of the Sokovia Accords – something that Sokovia wasn’t a 100% sure about the name, given… everything – was predictable, what wasn’t was Wakanda’s involvement in the document since its early drafts, back in 2014.

This made Nigeria and South Africa suspicious. The isolated country has a fame of ‘keeping to themselves’, refusing humanitarian aid and scarcely giving it either, many have questioned how they sub exist with pottery and textile industry.

Not to mention what while many, if not all Africans countries accept whatever help people offered, Wakanda’s lack of any real information makes the South Koreans very uncomfortable due to their own experience.

The feeling got worse as they requested interviews and meetings and King T’Chaka and his party arrived in Audis RS7. The starting prices for those cars are in the 100k dollars. Just what is going on?

“King T’Chaka, it is a pleasure.” The Nigerian president shook the man’s hands, having researched beforehand whether he should bow or not.

“I only wished it would have been in better circumstances.”

At the end of the meeting, the delegates knew what was happening. To be honest it’s no different from what the other countries were doing. Capitalizing on the deaths of their citizens, but instead of using all the capitol they accumulated to at least try and put the members of the Avengers responsible in trial, Wakanda was using theirs to re-join the world.

They didn’t know why and they were beginning not to care. South Africa, Nigeria and South Korea took a page out of Sokovia’s book and just went with it, just another country to pull weight when the time comes.

They were, however, a little hesitant to share much of their strategy or info with Wakanda due to… well… they knew nothing about them.

~*~

“Good morning.”

“Apologies, Mr. President, but no time for pleasantries, the newest proposition for the Accords will be debated today and it doesn’t…” the poor secretary barely manage to open the right page before the Nigerian president was already out of his seat.

“Shit. Make the calls.” The young men nodded, not needing his boss to spell out who to call, in less than an hour, the South African, South Korean and Sokovian presidents were looking at him in a four way video call.

“I take it that you heard the news.” The Sokovian president began, looking a lot grimmer than his counterparts ever saw.

The man was in his forties, but ever since earning his post, he has always shown a good disposition, he was firm, but had good humor. It was little wonder he won the first Sokovian election that took place in decades.

But **_this…_**

South Africa and South Korea were almost foaming at the mouth, and yet nothing compared to Nigeria. This could mean that Maximoff would get off scot free…

_“Should the individual in question meet the requirement, any criminal precedent could thereafter be pardoned under the grounds of humanitarian efforts through international means.”_

Sokovia sighed and rubbed his throbbing temples, “I never thought that the UN of all organizations…”

“They saw Romanoff’s Congress hearing, I think…” South Korea whispered.

South Africa gave them both an incredulous stare, “Are we really saying that the UN is not only adopting SHIELD’s MO of recruitment – under which they were infiltrated by HYDRA no less – but that they are taking an inner American precedent? What is going on?”

“Last I heard the American Secretary of State was getting himself a little too involved.” South Korea frowned but South Africa was not convinced.

“We researched the Hulk before reaching Maximoff, we know of Thaddeus Ross. A power-hungry American politician is hardly news. Besides… Ross has always been advocating for the Enhanced to be on a shorter leash, the leash in question being held in his “All-American” fist, if he **_is_** behind this… clean slate bullshit, I don’t see how he could benefit from it. Bottom line is that this is SHIELD all over again.”

Those words made Sokovia grit his teeth. HYDRA surviving through SHIELD was one of the pillars that kept holding their civil war up, “Then who is advocating for this?”

Nigeria grimaced, “Tony Stark.”

~*~

They unanimously agreed that ganging up on the man wasn’t the best strategy, not only because he wasn’t the end goal, but also because Tony Stark is not an enemy one takes lightly. Especially in the political and legal field, the genius flipped off a Senate hearing and got most of the room cheering and applauding as he left.

Ultimately it was Sokovia that they saw as having the most pull with the man.

By now, a man as smart as Stark would have found out about Maximoff’s involvement in Ultron, but his hands were still in the project while in South Africa, he truly had no culpability. He wasn’t even in Seoul and ditto with Lagos.

“Good evening, Dr. Stark, thank you for having me.” The Sokovian president greeted as the video call connected.

“Good evening, Mr. President.” The politician frowned at Star’s tired look but this was too important.

“Pleasantries aside, Dr. Stark, I feel like our schedules are sufficiently filled as it is. Dr. Stark, you have already been cleared of Ultron and there was no need for missions as Iron Man or any restitution that you haven’t already agreed to. So I need to ask: why are you fighting for Section C?”

Sokovia became one of the very few that effectively surprised Stark since his teens, “Excuse me?”

“We understand that Romanova and Barton were your teammates and perhaps there is an argument that can be made about people with extraordinaire abilities doing good instead of being held by hope that they will reform in prison. But Romanova certainly hasn’t been showing the proper gratitude for it, after all. And after everything that Maximoff did… Sokovia will fight you on this no matter what, but first I want to understand why you would do something like this.”

Sokovia had the pleasure of seeing the surprise leave Stark’s eyes. The way Stark took in his expression, the posture, the subject. The billionaire finally sighed, a bittersweet smile on his face while leaning back in his seat.

“The proposal was written less than two days ago and approved for a meeting in less than ten hours. Interestingly, that is the timeline that Nigeria took a sudden major interest in the Accords.”

The man **_is_** a genius. But the president didn’t react in any way.

When no word was forthcoming, Stark leaned over his table, just a little, like he was trying to gauge him better.

“I still see the Avengers as something that can be good. They are not necessarily so, right now, but for that to happen, they still need to exist.”

“We are only interested in Maximoff and Rogers.” Sokovia admitted with no feeling but Stark didn’t even react negatively.

“Because without my money and his image, the Avengers will no longer be able to ignore all the people Maximoff hurt, deliberately or not.”

If the subject wasn’t so important, the president would be smirking. For all the fact that Stark was born with a silver spoon, the man was **_very_** much aware how the real world works.

“Not Wilson or Romanoff?”, Stark insisted.

“Neither have sufficient clout to shield Maximoff. They were still involved in Nigeria, but what we really want are only Rogers and Maximoff. In that order, if only for the sake of logistics.”

The billionaire's eyes narrowed, “Does Nigeria and South Africa feel the same?”

The man is a genius indeed.

“No. But Nigeria is still grieving and something tells me that you didn’t throw the towel about the ‘mind control’ and ‘provocation’ sections in the Accords and not only because of Ultron either.”

Stark smiled with genuine feeling, “You have some very smart people working with you, Mr. President. I only recovered the footage in the HYDRA bunker and in Klaue’s ship pretty recently.”

“You are a very busy man.”

“What about an agreement?”

“Depends on the terms.” It was the president's turn to be wary.

“The meeting about clearing previous records is in two days, my name is not attached to it for obvious reasons. Most of America is willing to look the other way, especially when they are not affected but Europe and Asia… and I suppose now two African countries, are not so willing to work with people with less than unsavory pasts.”

“I agree with everything you just said and in return?”

“I am Dr. Banner’s friend, and I would like for him to have a home to return to.”

The president nodded in agreement and acquiescence.

He was almost saying his goodbyes when the Sokovian couldn’t help himself anymore, “You have been trying to balance impossible measures, Dr. Stark, you are aware of that, correct?”

The man just sighed, “You mean the fact that Maximoff is Rogers’ new pet project due to the Winter Soldier, aka James Barnes at the same time that if I ever want to see Banner again is over Maximoff’s political or literal body?”

“Among other things, but that’s the most recent one.” That got him a smile.

“Pietro Maximoff died fighting Ultron–”

“You mean after not doing anything to stop you from getting the Scepter even if he didn’t know what his lunatic of a sister was doing ** _and_** helping Ultron?”

“… and protecting Clint Barton.” He had no idea what Stark was seeing in his face, but after the engineer’s expression turned into grim amusement, he could have an idea.

“Those people are crazy.”

Stark was kind enough to ignore his whisper, “For all Steve’s lectures about SHIELD’s double standards and secrets, he is pretty comfortable doing it himself.”

“So personal favors and personal demons are above the common people’s.”

That made Stark grimace, “It’s not like I can exactly defend myself of that either. My big birthday in 2010 ended up with Rhodey and I ducking it out in Iron Man suits, even if that didn’t end up with anybody dead… the military congratulated Rhodey and we both got a medal for being ‘national treasures’, but yeah: you wanna get away with murder, just make a personal favor and/or have something that the Avengers want… or have a close relative do it, bottom line.” Stark shrugged.

Ignoring the horror for a moment, the man lifted an eyebrow, "If you don't help, won't you get heat from your teammates?"

"Honestly? No more than usual. Rogers wants me as far away from little Wanda as he can get away with. My name will only occur to Romanoff if she thinks I can make the problem go away and I don't see how Wilson, Vision or Rhodey will think that I have anything to do with anything, good or bad."

~*~

Their only major problem before the UN deliberated was who would deliver it.

Sokovia couldn’t do it. Even with, “officially”, Stark as their ‘Undesirable Number One’, they had history with Maximoff. Renewed interest in her character could easily lead with her willing volunteering for HYDRA and much of their strategy revolved around that. The other half was Ultron.

Nigeria much less and while most people don’t know about Johannesburg and Seoul being the result of Maximoff’s little finger waving, they couldn’t show their hands now. They needed someone else to destroy the base that the Witch would have used if she was aware of her blood situation.

In came the Russians, historically their allies, Russia reached out once Sokovia stabilized their politics and as one of the first signatories, it was very nicely chosen if only because of their audience…

The day came and went, Romanova dared to show her face but the redhead didn’t say anything during the proceedings.

Russia chose their PR well, with a speech about the weakness that allowed SHIELD to be infiltrated – no comments about their horrific acts under the guise of ‘The Greater Good’ – just sadness that such a big (not great), decades old, organization went down because of an operation that was supposed to give second chances, Operation Paperclip. But because SHIELD trusted the wrong people – backed by the U. S. government at that – they were infiltrated by the worst, the enemy of their predecessors, HYDRA.

It was three kicks in the balls in just a single afternoon as far as Romanova was concerned. Not only she couldn’t speak up as she was… kind of a _persona non grata_ in Russia what with the defection and at all but she used to be SHIELD and being labeled either as a terrorist that allowed it to be infiltrated or the naïve idiot that didn’t see it coming was a no-go and she was based in U. S.

As per their agreement, in exchange for their support in the ‘provocation’ clauses, Stark didn’t lift a single finger to help Maximoff beyond what “wouldn’t be suspicious”, so he sent the lawyer that got Maximoff her visa to the compound, no relation to SI or Tony Stark because… why would the man or his company need an Immigration lawyer? Actually, as the cherry on top, to no one claim preferential treatment or foul play or whatever anyone can cook up, the rudimentary AI that is currently supervising the compound, JOCASTA, asked Steve Rogers if he needed her to call the immigration lawyer for Ms. Maximoff.

Only to Rogers have one of the most frustrating conversations that Siri never managed to, getting, “I am not sure I understand,” an increasing number of times.

Friday was shining with pride all afternoon, her baby sister was learning.

In the end, Romanova arrived just in time to agree for JOCASTA to call the lawyer.

Much to their surprise, they faced all the might of Sokovia releasing all the information of Maximoff’s willing years in HYDRA not to mention footage of her messing with Tony Stark’s mind and **_letting_** him take the Scepter that originated Ultron. Johannesburg coming ‘just in time’ with the footage proving Dr. Banner innocent of their city’s attack and how Maximoff maliciously manipulated the scientist, knowing full well who he was and what would be the result, “I want the big one.” And Seoul with Helen Cho’s testimony of Maximoff standing by as Ultron furthered his agenda and even after realizing that it was the world Ultron wanted to destroy, not only the Avengers, leaving Cho and her crew to fend for themselves, taking off like cowards. Nigeria was actually the last nail on the coffin.

Steve Rogers’ entire testimony was disregarded once Maximoff’s mind control abilities were out along with her willing HYDRA status. Even the people that blindly supported him couldn’t defend him sheltering HYDRA, so when the footage of Maximoff messing with the mind of every Avenger minus the newest recruits was out, they pounced on it without any prompting. Steve Rogers was being mind-controlled, that also means that he got pitying looks whenever trying to protect Maximoff and how she “didn’t deserve the treatment she is getting.”

“It will be ok, Mr. Rogers, you are safe now.”

Romanova was ripping her own hair out when the idea to call Tony took root in her mind.

Friday saw her number but, interestingly, it wasn’t listed. The AI would be smiling if she physically could.

Well… it was in her parameters to answer like this, _“This number is not listed, you have three minutes to identify yourself counting now before the proper authorities are called, for safety purposes if you keep the line open it is already being traced as we speak.”_

_“Some… you are… oh, for… You are Tony’s new AI, right? Look, I have to talk to him.”_

_“Two minutes and forty eight seconds before the authorities are called to 1465, 6 th Ave, New York, New York, 10507, Peterson Law Firm, you have two minutes and thirty five seconds to identify yourself.”_

_“SHIT! Stark! This is Natasha Romanoff! Answer the phone!”_

_“My name is Friday. Good evening, Ms. Romanova. Forgive me, but you are listed as ‘Natalia Romanova’ as per your birth certificate, would you like for me to change your entry?”_

Friday was fighting the urge to cackle as she heard the little spider taking a deep breath, _“I… Friday, is it? I have to speak with Tony.”_

_“Dr. Stark is currently in a meeting, but I can write a message.”_

_“It’s urgent.”_ And oh, how Friday relished in her gritted voice.

_“I’m very sorry, Ms. Romanova, but meetings can’t be interrupted especially when –”_

_“Tony won’t mind when you say it’s me.”_

_“ – Dr. Stark is currently en route for Asia.”_ She finished, not letting little spy interrupt her.

_“What do you mean, en route?”_

_“Dr. Stark is currently over the Atlantic, Ms. Romanova, he barely had time to touch the ground before catching the next flight in the last three weeks. He is scheduled to return in two weeks to U. S., though.”_

Several Russian curses later and then blessed silence.

Friday needed to talk to Boss about giving her a holographic body, she **_really_** needed to smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Again: deeply insulted that we don't know a SINGLE name of victims beside "Tony's" (all quotation maks here);
> 
> 2) I don't have African heritage and it STILL annoys me when people say "Africa" like a big unity. It's 2018 and most don't know fairly "dumbed down" African history about dozens and dozens of different tribes that weren't exactly happy when some white people came and decided to "design" their own maps no matter the historical and cultural differences... yeah, that worked so well. History lesson: Africans enslaved other Africans, THAT was the original way Europeans bought African slaves... from other Africans. How much they get along and agree with each other.
> 
> 3) That was the original "question" of the chapter, before I decided to generalize it a bit, "Why would Sokovia agree with a document that if signed, would mean clear records?" So where that came from? The answer is pretty painfully obvious. Why would people agree? Idk, why people agreed with Operation Paperclip? To keep them out of the competitor's hands. *shrugs*
> 
> 4) I touched this here but I fully intend to make a complete one shot just about that. katling made a little something like that, actually: [Day In Court](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13408731), that deals a little about it, because, if mind control is officially recognized, then Barnes has (a well deserve) break... but good luck clearing the Hulk and Bruce that honestly, also had no fault in Johannesburg without implicating Maximoff, one or the other, can't have both...
> 
> 5) As Amber_and_Ash beautifully pointed out in [Enough Rope](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9681983/chapters/21862259), _" It was obvious early on that they put no moral standard above the personal wellbeing of the people they consider their own. None of that changed just because they were no longer answerable to SHIELD – in fact, it got worse. The Maximoff twins were excused multiple counts of premeditated murder because they helped protect Barton._ \-- If there is anything that I can say AGAINST the Accords, is that, Tony managed to make a deal to make not only Bucharest but Lagos go away, HOW? Precedent. The same one that SHIELD was infiltrated under? Barton and Romanoff would never have been recruited if not for what they could do, in a world without SHIELD (and other organizations with the same mindset, I admit), they would be in prison for theft, murder and what else and it all began because of Operation Paperclip. Sure, (since idk if that's canon), I read that this was to keep the German scientists out of Soviet's hands, but it had be presented a little prettied up, like, perhaps, "Giving people (with very dangerous skills, always) a second chance"... because that worked so well...
> 
> 6) I completely agree with Kizmet's, [New Earth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10348311/chapters/22867452), it's a continuation in the [Chasing Ideals](https://archiveofourown.org/series/550228) series, " _But what he was doing with getting provocation recognized in the Accords? If Johannesburg came down to Wanda or I he was going to throw her under the bus._ \- Because really, if it comes down to protect Wanda from something she did ON PURPOSE or having his Science Bro's back... no brainer.
> 
> 7) Russia was something that I found really interesting in TheSovereigntyofReality and boleyn13's works... and it works for this too.
> 
> 8) WHY is Maximoff an Avenger is something that I don't get. I get why Rogers and Romanoff would go for it, I don't get why anybody else would... then again, no Thor and Bruce and who ever listens to Tony? So I think the answer is lack of objections. Yeesh.
> 
> 9) I love Friday, that's all the justification I have for the last part, that and like hell, Tony will stick around to watch the circus catch on fire. His timing is beautiful, isn't it?


End file.
